Editor's Picks #283

"Spontaneous Interventions- Design Actions for the Common Good" presents an ambitious cross-section of design activism throughout the United States. via John Southern

in the latest edition of ShowCase: New Keelung Harbor Service Building, Archinect presents the first prize winning project by Neil M. Denari Architects, Inc. (NMDA). The details include; 120,780 square meters, Ground breaking: 2013, Completion: terminal (2015), office building (2017). double o zero immediately noted that "Something like this would have countless comments just a few years ago. Now it is just another thing".

The recent feature Instigating Change with Common Ground, written by John Southern is a critical but largely positive review of the Venice Architecture Biennale. Therein, he put forward the argument that this year’s "Biennale doesn’t have much to be cynical, negative, or nasty about" and wrote "But the 2012 Architecture Biennale isn’t just about solving problems. For those in the mood for a wink, there is a healthy balance of fun amongst the furrowed brows. FAT Architecture partnered with San Rocco and Ines Weizman to supply smart laughs with a Museum of Copying"

Plus, in the latest edition of ShowCase: New Keelung Harbor Service Building, Archinect presents the first prize winning project by Neil M. Denari Architects, Inc. (NMDA). The details include; 120,780 square meters, Ground breaking: 2013, Completion: terminal (2015), office building (2017). double o zero immediately noted that "Something like this would have countless comments just a few years ago. Now it is just another thing".

Steven Ward agreed adding "why do you think that's true?...what kind of qualitative discussion can these images generate beyond a series of guesses about what software/renderer was used....there are limits to our ability to access the project in any critical way. i don't know why we should care, why anyone should spend so much to build such a uniquely difficult set of forms". sameolddoctor also suggested "NMDA has lost its mojo...or maybe its just getting it back..."

Carol Vogel reviewed the new Islamic Galleries at the Louvre for the NYT. The expansion was designed by two architects, Mario Bellini and Rudy Ricciotti, who won the international competition to create the new wing in 2005. Orhan Ayyüce criticized "have no particular sympathy for its Orientalist definitions such as ‘a scarf floating within the space,’ ‘luminous veil,’ ‘a Beduine tent,’ or ‘flying carpet.’ Might as well install an ‘Ali Baba’ on top of roof to scare the birds".

Schools/Blogs
John Tublesis finally getting used to life at GSD, but only after three weeks. He writes "I am terribly sorry for the expletives but I just realized that it has been a while since I blogged... and yes incase you are wondering, for the 167th time, I have fallen off the edge of the cliff again.. a cliff called GSD...Oh if I get a penny for every time somebody in GSD says the word pedagogy or tabula rasa.. I will be a rich man!".

Then ciao claimed "tammuz,You seem to be concerned with a lot of soft issues. Yes, few ‘poetic/lyrical’ projects use coding to illustrate their fictions. I think that (along with the redundancy of speculation and lack of realism), is what Patrik had a problem with". toasteroven later chimed in "I just looked through those projects that schumacher was criticizing...I agree with him that this kind of dystopian non-realism in too many final projects really does not bode well for architectural education".

jk3hl asked if anyone cared to discuss how much real impact the Dean has on an architecture graduate program?accesskb thinks that it is simple "they call the final shots on how the school is run, what faculty is hired, etc. They can move the school forward or set it back a couple of decades" but James Petty believes it "Totally depends on the school. At Yale, Stern keeps a tight grip on everyone...If he wasnt so personally interested in diversity, im sure the school wouldnt be."

wurdan freo wanted to know if Archinectors had any comments re: experience on the impact of vapor barriers under slab on grade. anarchytecture advised "Only use a vapor barrier under the slab if you have uninterrupted sub-slab drainage with a gravel bed or something. Else you're looking for a waterproof membrane, especially with concrete" and Janosh added "That Preprufe stuff Rusty mentions is absolutely dynamite if you are doing new construction. If you find yourself to have inherited an existing slab with vapor migration issues, you can use top-side applied moisture vapor emission reduction coatings. Koester VAP and Aquafin are both good..."